Advocates debate on Maryland’s proposed Fairness in Girls Sports Act
Senate Bill 588
MARYLAND – The Maryland General Assembly reports that Marylanders Overwhelmingly Support Fairness in Girls’ Sports and local politicians are aiming to get it passed this time.
To play or not to play?
The question that has Marylanders at odds- Should trans individuals play in women’s sports? Is this about fairness and inclusivity? Or is it taking away the accomplishments of others?
Maryland Senator Mary Beth Carozza says this is gaining more and more support; however, pride advocates say this legislation is discriminatory, and others say, there could be a solution. “A recent poll showed 76% of Marylanders are supporting this legislation, are supporting this concept of fairness in girls’ sports. Again, it’s a simple concept- biological girls play girls’ sports. It’s that simple.”
Scholarships, Safety, and Second Place
Senate Bill 588 or Fairness in Women’s Sports Act is meant to protect girls addressing the concerns of fairness, scholarships, and safety when biological men participate in women’s sports. Senator Carozza says they’ve listened to citizen concerns and have made changes like removing civil punishments, among other things.
However, she stands firm on her stance and has a personal connection to the issue. “I was the number 1 player for Stephen Decatur’s High School tennis team. Had I been bumped from that #1 position, through the means of a male wanting to play girls’ sports, that would have taken me out of that #1 spot.”
Denial and Discrimination
Dr. Nicole Hollywood is a professor at UMES, a PFLAG Board member, and just so happens to have a child who identifies as trans. She says there is “minimal difference among the genders before puberty,” so students should be allowed to play whatever they please, and that this is a direct violation of human rights.
“These bills go directly against the Maryland Secondary Schools Athletic Association policy which states, ‘Participants should provide the opportunity for all students to participate in interscholastic athletics in a manner consistent with their gender identity, irrespective of their gender listed on their academic record.”
Dr. Hollywood says when people bring up safety issues, it denies the impact of hormone therapy and so regardless of hormone therapy or gender assigned at birth, it shouldn’t matter. “I think that the purpose of youth sports is to engage children in activities. I don’t think the purpose of sports is to win… Naturally occurring in people are many variations on gender- so these are people that are stuck in a complete binary and ignoring science.”
Divisions, not division
Mark Delancy is president of PLAG, an LGBTQ+ advocacy group in Maryland. He says many people use what he calls “back door excuses’ to discriminate, and there’s room for common ground. “People do different weight classes for different things, for different sports. Why can’t we come up with a classification for individuals not because they’re transgender, but because of physical development, physical strength, power…”
He says what the county needs is solutions, not division. “Instead of coming at it like, ‘I’m trans and I’m going to force you to make me play,’ or “you’re not letting me play because you’re discriminating against me.’ And the other people say, ‘We’ll it’s a safety issue, it’s a hormone, it’s a therapy’- all these other excuses instead of just coming out and saying hey why don’t we come to the table and sit down and say why don’t we come up with different levels or different criteria that we all can play?”
Future of Females in Sports
Senator Carozza wanted to make it clear that this legislation only pertains to men entering women’s sports and not the other way around, and protecting women is their only goal.
Earlier this month, the U.S. House passed legislation that would ban transgender athletes from participating in women’s and girls’ sports at schools and institutions receiving federal funds. Dr. Hollywood says this has been brought up before and has failed, and she doesn’t believe it has a chance of passing now.
The bill will be brought before the Senate in the upcoming weeks, and we’ll have more information as the story unfolds. For more information visit the link.
